You Could've Drowned
The 10th Suggestion: You Could've Drowned (溺死確実の危険な行為だ, Dekishi Kakujitsu no Kiken na Kōi da) is the tenth chapter of the series Medaka Box. Summary On Sunday, Shiranui is revealed to be hosting the swim meet along with Aso. Aso describes the meet's first event, water basketball, before attempting to introduce herself, only to get cut off by Shiranui. Aso asks Shiranui if she is really friends with the Student Council's Zenkichi, and after receiving the affirmative, asks how the two met. Shiranui tells her that they went to different middle schools, and met for the first time in April, when Zenkichi picked up an eraser she dropped. Aso is unimpressed, and Zenkichi's thoughts upon hearing the story imply it to be, if not a lie, then only half the truth. Waiting for the first event to begin, Nabeshima approaches Zenkichi and Akune and asks if they didn't make a mistake with the rules, handicapping the boys by making them wear flotation devices, as the first event requires that participants dive down beneath the water. When the boys point out that she is taking advantage of the rules by having only girls on her team, she openly admits it. Overhearing Nabeshima talking to Zenkichi and Akune, Medaka approaches her and tells Nabeshima that she hopes the two of them can have a good fight. Nabeshima grudgingly agrees, thinking to herself that the handicap doesn't apply to Medaka. Shiranui and Aso discuss the first event, with Shiranui deciding that the Basketball Club has the advantage. Aso is surprised by Shiranui's logical analysis, and Shiranui tells the older girl that she is here to work, as she is getting paid in food. She goes on to say that there is a certain technique required for water basketball, though not too many people know it, and that this is why she warned the participants that the problem isn't just with getting the ball in the basket. Aso becomes unnerved by the younger girl's dark expression, and begins to ask what she means, before noticing that the event is about to begin. As the participants struggle to score points, Aso asks Shiranui what she thinks of the situation, only to find her laughing. Nabeshima finds herself and her team struggling, and though she cheerfully tells her fellow teammates to stop calling her captain, she worries to herself that the game is much harder than she imagined. She wonders how the Student Council are doing, and is shocked when she sees Zenkichi and Akune getting out of the water. When she demands to know why, Akune tells her they would just be getting in Medaka's way. When Nabeshima asks where Medaka has gone, Zenkichi tells her that if her intention is to be cheap, then Medaka's is pomp and circumstance. Medaka then bursts out from underwater, startling Nabeshima. Medaka scores twenty points almost immediately by gathering all of the balls and throwing them in the basket together. After Medaka scores, Akune and Zenkichi high-five. Aso is amazed to announce that the Student Council just scored twenty points in one shot. Shiranui corrects her, explaining that that is actually the right way to do it. In the water. Medaka thinks to herself that because the throw was a three pointer, she should have gotten sixty points. Aso agrees with Shiranui and says she understands, but tells Shiranui that because she announced it over the microphone, everyone heard it, and all the students have begun to frantically try to mimic Medaka's technique. Aso later declares that the time is up. After the first event ends, Akune asks Zenkichi if they should have given extra points for finishing places. Zenkichi is pleased with the scores, seeing that the Student Council is not too far ahead the other clubs, despite Medaka, and claims that he will need to thank Shiranui for explaining the proper technique. He isn't surprised when Medaka appears behind him, mimicking his pose. She tells Zenkichi there is no need to thank Shiranui, as the Swimming Club finished even before the Student Council did. Other onlookers discuss the Swimming Club, one claiming he saw the guys swim to the pool's bottom, even with floaters on their arms. Zenkichi thinks to himself that they were the ones Shiranui was talking about, but he is amazed that they were faster than Medaka. Medaka confronts the club, indentifying the technique they used as compulsed expiry diving: if they had made a single mistake, they could have drowned. She asks them if they value their lives, a question Tanegashima answers on the rest of the club's behalf: they value money more than their lives. Aside, Nabeshima angrily tells herself that she won't lose to Medaka, while her teammates look on. Characters in Order of Appearance *Note: Bold = First Appearance #'Tanzaku Aso' #Hansode Shiranui #Zenkichi Hitoyoshi #Kouki Akune #'Judo Club Member With Pigtails' #Nekomi Nabeshima #'Judo Club Member With Ahoge' #Medaka Kurokami #Sotsu Tanegashima #Umumichi Yakushima #Mogana Kikaijima Category:Chapters